2020 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Lee (North) County, Mark Kruse, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, C.J.  (3 pages)

            James Lee Blair-Bey contends the district court erred in summarily dismissing his petition for writ of habeas corpus.  OPINION HOLDS: Finding no error, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County, Julie A. Schumacher, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., Mullins, J., and Gamble, S.J.  Schumacher, J., takes no part.  Opinion by Gamble, S.J. (10 pages)

            JD Anderson appeals his conviction for domestic abuse assault, third offense.  He claims he received ineffective assistance of counsel and the district court erred in admitting a 911 call and corresponding transcript.  OPINION HOLDS: Counsel was not ineffective for not objecting to the inclusion of jury instructions for lesser-included offenses or a jury instruction regarding Anderson’s out-of-court statements.  We preserve Anderson’s ineffective-assistance claim regarding counsel’s failure to make a foundational objection to the 911 call.  The 911 call qualified as present-sense-impression and excited-utterance exceptions to the rule against hearsay.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County, Karen Kaufman Salic, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., Mullins, J., and Potterfield, S.J.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J.  (4 pages)

            Gary Alan Beach appeals his sentences for possession of a controlled substance (third offense), unlawful possession of a prescription drug, and second-degree harassment, arguing that the court failed to provide adequate reasons for imposing consecutive sentences.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the court’s statement of reasons is sufficiently comprehensive to permit appellate review of the court’s discretionary action, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Greene County, James M. Drew, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and May, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J.  (9 pages)

            James H. Exline was twice tried for second- and third-degree sexual abuse of a child, with the first trial ending in a mistrial and the second resulting in jury findings of guilt charges.  On appeal, Exline argues the district court (1) abused its discretion in allowing the jury to hear that the child died; (2) erred in admitting hearsay evidence; and (3) abused its discretion in denying his motion to postpone the second trial.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm Exline’s convictions of second-degree and third-degree sexual abuse. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Story County, Bethany Currie, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED.  Heard by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and May, JJ.  Opinion by Mullins, J.  Dissent by May, J.  (15 pages)

            Plaintiffs appeal the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant on their gross negligence claims.  OPINION HOLDS: We reverse the grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant and remand for further proceedings.  DISSENT ASSERTS: The district court properly granted summary judgment based on established contract principles.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Nancy S. Tabor, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Bower, C.J., and Greer and Ahlers, JJ.  Tabor, J., takes no part.  Opinion by Bower, C.J. (11 pages)

            Tremayne Thomas was convicted of first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse.  On appeal, he argues there was insufficient evidence to prove he committed murder.  OPINION HOLDS:  While circumstantial, the evidence is sufficiently compelling to convince the jury of Thomas’s guilt.  We therefore affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Warren County, Thomas P. Murphy, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Mullins, J.  (12 pages)

            Jeremy Hill appeals his conviction of theft in the second degree.  Hill argues instruction sixteen was both an improper statement of the law on aiding and abetting and that it violated his constitutional rights.  Hill also argues insufficient evidence was presented to support his conviction and he received ineffective assistance of counsel.  OPINION HOLDS: Sufficient evidence was presented at trial to support Hill’s conviction of theft in the second degree.  The marshaling instruction on theft in the second degree included an explanation of specific intent, but Hill’s counsel breached his duty in failing to object to the omission of the specific-intent language from the aiding-and-abetting instruction.  However, because there is no reasonable probability a different outcome would have resulted if the instruction had been properly submitted to the jury, no prejudice has resulted, and we affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Howard County, Richard D. Stochl, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (6 pages)

            Christopher Weigert challenges the sentence imposed by the district court following his guilty plea for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver (methamphetamine).  Weigert maintains the court impermissibly applied a fixed sentencing policy rather than engaging in the meaningful exercise of discretion mandated by Iowa Code section 901.5 (2017).  OPINION HOLDS: Weigert has not establish the court engaged in a fixed sentencing policy.  We affirm the sentence imposed by the district court.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, Michael J. Schilling, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by May, J.  (3 pages)

            Nicolas Jacobs appeals the denial of his postconviction-relief application.  He contends his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to challenge Iowa Code section 232.11 (2015) as an equal protection violation.  OPINION HOLDS: We find counsel was not ineffective.  And we affirm the denial of Jacobs’s postconviction-relief application.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Monica L. Zrinyi Wittig, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (4 pages)

            Jacob Schmitz challenges the sentences imposed by the district court.  He maintains the circumstances did not warrant the consecutive terms of incarceration ordered by the court.  OPINION HOLDS: Recognizing that the court imposed a sentence within its discretion and that Schmitz has not established the court relied on an improper factor or consideration to do so, we find the district court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing Schmitz to consecutive terms of prison.  We affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Scott D. Rosenberg, Judge.  CONVICTIONS AFFIRMED; SENTENCES AFFIRMED IN PART, VACATED IN PART, AND REMANDED.  Considered by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, J. (11 pages)

            Defendant appeals convictions for theft, identity theft, and forgery.  OPINION HOLDS: We reject defendant’s ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims because a factual basis existed for the forgery conviction. We find the trial court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing the defendant to a term of incarceration. We vacate those portions of the sentencing orders pertaining to restitution and remand for a new restitution calculation.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Joel A. Dalrymple, Judge.  CONVICTION AFFIRMED, SENTENCE VACATED IN PART, AND REMANDED FOR FURTHER PROCEEDINGS.  Considered by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Doyle, P.J. (5 pages)

            Tondalaya Bridges appeals her conviction and sentence for first-degree burglary.  OPINION HOLDS: We reject Bridges’s claim that she was so intoxicated that she could not form the specific intent to commit an assault necessary to find her guilty of first-degree burglary.  Because the verdict is not against the weight of the evidence, her trial counsel did not breach a duty to move for a new trial.  Her claim of ineffective assistance of counsel fails.  We vacate the portion of the sentencing order assessing Bridges with court costs and remand to the district court to impose restitution consistent with Bridges’s reasonable ability to pay.